🇹🇷💰 Turkish foreign minister says Ankara won't wait for US F-35 jets, wants $1.4bln back

💬 "We want out money now. We want the money we paid there to be returned. Our friends from the ministry came together and reviewed the steps we will take from now on. We are now taking care of ourselves," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told media, adding that Ankara does not want the situation to "turn into a snake story like with the Patriot defense system."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said that the country had paid $1.4 billion for the jets.

In April 2021, the US excluded Turkiye from the F-35 program after Ankara purchased Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Washington annulled the joint memorandum on the F-35 fighters with the country, while signing the document with seven other project partners — the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway.

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🇩🇪 Germany plans to send Ukraine largest military assistance package worth $3bln

The German Chancellor’s office and other ministries have agreed during secret negotiations to send to Ukraine "additional weapons worth about 2.7 billion euros" in the coming weeks and months, media reported, citing sources.

Berlin plans to transfer Ukraine 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks, up to 200 reconnaissance drones, as well as Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles, additional IRIS-T anti-aircraft missiles, artillery shells and transports, the news magazine said.

This will become the largest arms package provided to Ukraine by Germany since the start of Russia’s military operation there in February 2022, according to media reports. The package’s announcement is expected to be made on Sunday, at the ceremony of awarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky simultaneously with the Charlemagne Prize in the German city of Aachen. The prize is awarded annually for contribution to the unification of Europe.

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❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 170 Ukrainian troops, as well as an Akatsiya and Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Russian forces neutralized up to 75 Ukrainian personnel, two infantry fighting vehicles as well as an Akatsiya and Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 285 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, four armored personnel carriers, two Akatsiya and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, as well as one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Russian forces destroyed over 155 Ukrainian troops and one US-manufactured M777 artillery system;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen, a Hyacinth-B towed gun, and an ammunition depot;

▪️Air defenses shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter, three HIMARS projectiles, and 18 unmanned aerial vehicles in the LPR, DPR, and Kharkov region.

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📹 First-person footage shows Russian drone destroying Ukrainian missile system in Ugledar direction

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Turkiye's election council says not going to nullify votes cast for withdrawn candidate

Ince, the leader of the Memleket party, announced the withdrawal of his candidacy on Thursday, three days before the election. Voting at polling stations abroad took place from April 27-May 9, with more than 1.8 million Turkish citizens cast their votes. Muharrem Ince's name was on the ballots.

"The Council decided that the votes cast for the candidate who withdrew his candidacy are valid," Yener said, as quoted by media.

Turkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on May 14. The second round, which will take place if no candidate gains 50% of votes, is scheduled for May 28.

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Erdogan spoke at his final pre-election rally in Istanbul's Kizilay Square, in his hometown district of Kasimpasa.

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EU top diplomat insists the Bloc should ‘intensify’ relations with countries in Indo-Pacific

"Now we are going to start talking with the Indo-Pacific. You know how important is Indo-Pacific today in the global geopolitics. This part of the world will represent about half of the growth of economy worldwide, we have to intensify our relationship with this group of people," Josep Borrell said ahead of the EU Indo-Pacific ministerial forum in Stockholm.

The high representative also noted that today’s forum will be a follow up to the first forum held in Paris in February 2022, adding that the Indo-Pacific region has some important issues, including maritime navigation, and it is a great opportunity for the bloc to try to resolve some of them.

"We have to deploy our capacities in this part of the world, we have to ensure freedom of navigation. There are a lot of tensions in this region, it is going to be an important discussion, I am happy to have this second forum," he said.

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👨‍🚀Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin conducted a spacewalk at the International Space Station.

The cosmonauts will continue working with the radiator on the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module, to finally deploy and activate the unit.

The spacewalk lasted for five hours and 14 minutes.

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Today is the 240th anniversary of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet!

Established on May 13, 1783, the Russian Black Sea Fleet today consists of more than 40 warships and submarines.

To carry out its tasks, the Black Sea Fleet has diesel submarines, ocean and near-sea surface ships, naval missile, anti-submarine and fighter aviation, and coastal troop units.
Recently, Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov said that three small missile ships and a patrol ship will join the Russian Black Sea Fleet in 2023.

Take a look at Sputnik's infographic showing Russian Black Sea fleet ships.

Kilicdaroglu’s party wants Turkiye to bolster ties with Russia - deputy leader

"We are the party that believes that it is important to have good relationship with Russia. Not only with Russia, but with all of our neighbors … There are a number of problems [in Turkiye’s ties with Russia] but we want to solve them through dialogue and bring the ties to a new level," the deputy leader of Turkiye's Republican People's Party Oguz Salici said.

He added that the RPP was open to deepening economic cooperation with Russia.

"We can bolster trade. The tourist sector is of high importance to us. We are committed to promoting development and prosperity in the region. We are not prejudiced against having a relationship with Russia," Oguz Salici said.

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China sells US debt, stockpiles gold amid de-dollarization trend

According to a report on Baijiahao, China's Central Bank has been increasing its gold bullion reserves while simultaneously selling US Treasury debt. The country's official gold holdings rose by 260,000 ounces in a single month, reaching a total of 66.76 million ounces.

China had previously maintained unchanged gold reserves between September 2019 and October 2022, but in November 2022, it began accumulating more gold. This trend is not unique to China, as other countries also increased their gold holdings in the first quarter of 2023, according to the World Gold Council.

The reason behind China's gold accumulation strategy appears to be the attractiveness of gold as a safe haven investment, as well as the desire to reduce exposure to US Treasuries amidst higher dollar interest rates and global volatility.

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May 13 marks the 240th anniversary of the creation of the Russian Black Sea Fleet

Through its history, it has fallen to the sailors and officers of the fleet to defend the southern frontiers of the Russian Empire, the USSR and modern-day Russia.

Learn more about the Black Sea Fleet’s difficult and glorious history, and its modern composition

BRICS to discuss common currency amid de-dollarization trend

Amid discussions on finding alternatives to the US dollar in global trade, BRICS member states are set to debate the introduction of a common currency, according to South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, Naledi Pandor.

The possibility of a new form of currency, potentially backed not only by gold but also by other products like rare-earth elements, is being explored ahead of the BRICS summit scheduled for August 22 in Johannesburg.

Many countries in the Global South are seeking alternatives to the fiat dollar system, as the US has increasingly used the dollar as a tool for sanctions and coercion.

The de-dollarization trend has gained momentum due to factors such as rising US debt, interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, and bank failures in the United States.

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US splurges $1 Bln on Russian Uranium despite sanctions war

According to calculations made by US business media, American companies purchased roughly $1 billion worth of Russian enriched uranium over the past year.

Industry experts attribute the continued buy up of the key commodity to the lack of domestic US conversion and enrichment capabilities, with Russian nuclear giant Rosatom continuing to account for about a quarter of all enriched uranium used by America’s vast network of NPPs.

Moscow could hypothetically put a significant squeeze on US energy security if it chose to do so.

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G7 science ministers warn about space debris

"We … reiterate our commitment to the safe and sustainable use of outer space, and share the view that orbital debris constitutes an urgent issue," their joint statement read.

The communique released on the second day of the G7 Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting in Sendai, Japan, blamed the problem on the rapidly expanding space exploration and satellite launches as well as tests of direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles.

The ministers said they would promote discussions within the UN and other international frameworks about "the impact of large constellations of satellites on astronomy for the protection of the dark and quiet sky."

The ministers also stressed the importance of polar research for addressing climate change. They proposed strengthening international cooperation and observations in the Arctic and Antarctic and increasing the role of indigenous peoples in the Arctic research.

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Supermassive black hole triggered largest cosmic explosion in history

Scientists have captured the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed, which has been described as a fireball “100 times the size of the solar system” and 10 times brighter than any known supernova. It was traced to eight billion light years away and is believed to have been triggered by a giant cloud of gas being consumed by a supermassive black hole.

It is thought that the cloud of gas may have originated from the large “doughnut” that typically surrounds black holes.

Dr. Philip Wiseman, an astronomer at Southampton University who led the observations, said that “in three years, this event has released about 100 times as much energy as the sun will in its 10bn-year lifetime.”

As the material spiraled towards the black hole’s event horizon (its spherical outer boundary), it would have given off vast amounts of heat and light, illuminating a portion of the doughnut and heating it to 12,000 C.

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Biden says debt ceiling talks ‘moving along’ but no ‘crunch point’ reached

"They are moving along," US President Joe Biden told the White House press pool, adding that there was "real discussion" but that negotiators were "not there yet."

"We’ve not reached the crunch point yet," the president said.

He did not answer the question about the date of his next meeting with congressional leaders.

The White House and Republicans in Congress have been locked in a dispute on a deal that would avert an unprecedented national default as early as June.

The Financial Times on Saturday cited people familiar with the matter as saying that the pact was beginning to take shape ahead of a meeting between Biden administration officials and aides to the Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. At the heart of the deal is reportedly a plan that will limit domestic spending.

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